A certain high ground in Jueyun Karst. The terrain here is open, and the moonlight is not obscured by trees or rocks. Also, because of its higher elevation, ordinary monsters do not come here.
So Lumine and Xiangling chose this place for their camp and lit a bonfire.
They had originally planned to return early today, but the events of the afternoon made them linger for a long time, and eventually, night fell.
The two simply decided to camp here and return tomorrow morning.
However, Lumine's expression throughout the afternoon was not very relaxed, because that faint, elusive gaze bothered him too much.
It wasn't until the gaze that had been fixed on him completely disappeared that Lumine finally relaxed.
He felt that Xiangling was right; perhaps the fellow who had been staring at him was an Adeptus living here.
He knew he was quite special, especially with a Stellar Core inside him.
Although he didn't know if the people of this world could see through the things inside him, besides the Stellar Core, he attracted attention for something else as well.
For example, his succubus-like physique.
If that Adeptus was female, then what happened today wouldn't be too strange.
But no matter what, he finally had the energy to focus his attention elsewhere now.
For example, the bowl of soup Xiangling had brought him again…
Lumine stared at the bowl of purple, viscous liquid in his hand. Vaguely, he seemed to see a terrifying human face in the bowl.
The expression on that face was full of resentment, like some malevolent spirit that died with grievances.
"No, no, it must be an illusion." Lumine quickly shook his head.
This was the uncanny valley effect. Those three small dots were not human eyes, nose, or mouth, but rather floating bits of some plant, combined with the moonlight reflecting off them, creating this effect.
"Come, try it, Lumine! I made a huge change this time, and it's sure to taste great!" Xiangling said with a smile. If it weren't for the fact that he knew Xiangling wouldn't harm him, perhaps that smile would have taken on a different meaning from his perspective.
"Ah, okay…" Lumine nodded. He already had quite a psychological shadow from the bowl of soup from that morning. Although the taste of that soup wasn't particularly bad, the texture was truly disgusting.
This bowl of soup—at least it didn't look as viscous, so there shouldn't be any Slime Condensate in it.
Lumine, as if resigned, closed his eyes and drank the bowl of thick soup in one gulp.
"Oh!" Lumine's eyes widened, his face full of disbelief.
"This soup… tastes amazing!"
Its appearance was unremarkable, but its taste was indescribably delicious.
"Really?!" Xiangling's face immediately broke into a smile. He was very happy to receive a positive review from Lumine.
"Yes, it's delicious!" Lumine nodded, then quickly drank the rest of the soup in one gulp.
This was the standard Xiangling should have, even if the appearance was still a bit lacking…
However, Xiangling had said before that many diners sought out strange things, so perhaps this kind of presentation would instead pique their interest.
And with Xiangling's skill, it shouldn't be difficult to simply change the appearance of this dish.
It tastes really good…
"Xiangling, is there more?"
"Hehe, of course there is! I made a big pot!"
After finishing dinner with Xiangling and cleaning the dishes, the two sat under the starry sky and chatted for a long time.
Unconsciously, it was finally time to sleep.
"Xiangling, you go in first. I'm going to wash up a bit." Lumine looked at the tent in front of him, his expression not very relaxed.
"Eh? Okay…" Xiangling was slightly stunned, then nodded.
When he had gone to wash up earlier, he had specifically asked Lumine if he wanted to go together. Lumine had stammered then, saying he would go before bed.
He still couldn't quite understand why Lumine wanted to delay for this short while.
Lumine didn't explain to him, mainly because he didn't know how to explain.
There was only one tent tonight because they had originally planned to go back today and hadn't thought about camping outdoors.
This tent was one Xiangling always carried with him, because he often went out to collect ingredients in the wilderness. Occasionally, if he accidentally went too far and couldn't get back to the city, he would carry a tent to be prepared for any eventuality.
So, this small single-person tent would inevitably be a bit cramped for two people…
Why did it feel like this kind of thing had happened more than once?
Lumine felt a bit sad. He didn't know why he was so forgetful, why he didn't think of bringing a tent.
First, it was with Rosaria, then with Lumine, Mona… and now with Xiangling, it was the same situation again.
This kind of plot couldn't continue. Even if he had the idea of conquering Xiangling, it absolutely couldn't be in this tiny tent!
"Well, I'll go first." Lumine slowly got up and left.
The small stream was not far away, but since their current location was a bit high, they still had to walk a certain distance.
Lumine deliberately slowed his steps, thinking of a countermeasure.
His idea was to stall for a while, until Xiangling fell asleep.
He had specifically chatted with Xiangling for a long time, and then suggested going to sleep when Xiangling was very sleepy, and then taking the opportunity to come out and wash up.
As long as he took long enough to wash up, Xiangling might fall asleep while waiting.
And if Xiangling fell asleep, then he would be temporarily safe.
Thinking this, Lumine slowly sat down by the stream, silently waiting.
Looking at the babbling water in front of him, Lumine thought for a moment, then reached out and took off his shoes, soaking his feet in the cool, flowing stream.
He comfortably narrowed his eyes.
The stream water was very cool, just perfect for this somewhat hot weather.
"Hoo…" Lumine's two small feet dangled continuously in the stream.
He wondered when Xiangling would fall asleep. To be honest, the weather in Jueyun Karst was truly a bit too hot.
He had felt this way this afternoon, but at the time, because of that inexplicable gaze, he didn't have the leisure to care about the small matter of the temperature.
Now that he had calmed down a bit, the perceived temperature finally rose accordingly…
"No!" Lumine immediately opened his eyes and quickly looked down at his reflection in the water.
His face, of course, was flushed, and his earlobes were so red they looked like they were bleeding.
This wasn't caused by the weather being too hot; he was very familiar with this feeling, as he had experienced it before.
"How—how is this possible? I clearly…" Lumine was surprised but quickly realized something was wrong.
Could it be the two bowls of soup Xiangling served today?
After all, Xiangling had also said that he wasn't sure if some of the ingredients combined would have some unknown effects.
"Good thing it's here." Lumine was a bit relieved that he had left Xiangling's side in time, and there was a cool stream nearby.
As long as he stayed in the stream for a while, this "medicine effect" should pass, right?
There would be no problems, no matter what.
Without a moment's hesitation, Stelle immediately stripped off his other clothes, tossed them aside, and jumped into the stream.
Little did he know, Xiangling, who hadn't seen Stelle return for a long time, hadn't fallen asleep from exhaustion as Stelle had imagined; instead, she had grown worried and come looking for him.
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